Evolution of Thought of the Opponents of the Hijab and the Intellectual Confrontation of the Proponents, from the Nasiri ara to the end of the Pahlavi I period (1210-1320 AH)

Intellectualism began in Iran after Iranian people became acquainted with Western civilization. With the transition from the era of constitutionalism and the advent of modernity which was the generator of intellectuals, the thoughts of Opponents of hijab were promoted among the youth and modernists and caused the formation of debates about hijab between the opposition and the proponents. Then with the spread of Westernism, especially in the Pahlavi I era which focused on capturing and adapting the manifestations and achievements of the West, Opposition to the principle of hijab was pursued as one of the main reasons for the backwardness of Iranians. Therefore the aim of this study is to describe and study the evolution of the thought of the opponents of hijab and the intellectual confrontation of the defenders during the years 1210 to 1320 AH. This research is a basic study with a “descriptive-analytical” research method using Persian and Arabic sources including books, publications, memoirs, documents, and documents of contemporary history. This study has concluded that modernist theories initially focused on the type of covering and the limits of the hijab. Then with the expansion of the press and schools and the digestion of Western theories among modernists, their nature became apparent, and the goal of modernism shifted to removing the hijab and choosing a Western lifestyle. In parallel with the promotion of the ideas and thoughts of the opponents of the hijab, the defenses of the supporters, in the form of religious treatises and publications, one of the most unprecedented intellectual confrontations in the history of contemporary Islam began. The defenses were initially mixed with a strict approach and in some cases with prejudice, then over time, it was changed. After a while in order to spread the thoughts of the modernists and to emulate the Western woman, the path of this confrontation was temporarily cut off. However, after Reza Khan, the voluntary return of women to the hijab became possible again.